terested in promoting any particular subject, as is the case occasionally with men who have highly specialized training. The advisory system, in spite of its limitations, gives opportunity for personal contacts of value both to students and to staff.

Student Enrollment

Student enrollment in agriculture in land-grant colleges until about 1890 was very small. The colleges had not been established because of any large public demand for instruction in agriculture of college grade. Moreover, following the Civil War there was rapid expansion of the farming area as the western fever took hold of soldiers and others alike and overproduction of agricultural products was the result. Transportation was difficult and very expensive. A mere subsistence from what was produced on the farm and a home were practically all the income that a farmer could obtain. Then came the panic of 1873 and extremely low prices for agricultural products. There did not seem to be any real reason why young men should enroll in courses to prepare for an occupation in which there seemed to be such small promise. Parents and those who took the rôle of farm leaders then, as in the period from 1920 to 1927, advised their sons and young men who were fortunate enough to go to college, not to enroll in agriculture but to study something else. Agricultural enrollment was not at all likely to increase under such conditions.

The depression of 1873 continued over a period of years and the prices of farm products increased very slowly. Some improvement in farm conditions came in the late seventies with a setback again in the early eighties. Not until 1903, according to the records of the Office of Education, was an enrollment of 2,405 students reached in the regular agricultural curricula of land-grant colleges. At about this time new departments were established, new courses introduced in agronomy, horticulture, and dairying, and beginnings were made in animal husbandry.

Demand for farm products improved and a much larger interest among farmers in agricultural methods and practices followed. Farmers' institutes were organized in many States, and college professors were in demand as speakers at these meetings. Here they talked of their experiments and of the results they had obtained and told how these could be applied in practice. Sometimes there were vigorous disagreements and the professors had to exert themselves to prove their point. Often they were right and what they proposed could be applied. Farmers began to have more confidence in the agricultural colleges and in their recommendations.

Coincident with this movement came improvement in the economic conditions on the farms because of better prices. Improved machinery and rapid extension of its use took some of the drudgery out of farm labor. Further agricultural employments in specialized fields other than farming developed with amazing rapidity. A gradual change in sentiment toward agriculture and agricultural education became evident. This was reflected by an increase in agricultural enrollments. By 1910 enrollments in the regular agricultural curricula had reached 6,255. The following chart shows the enrollments in the regular 4-year curricula in agriculture for this period.

With rising prices for agricultural products popular discussions of the high cost of living appeared in the general press, in journals, and in magazines. Experiment stations every year were turning out results that could be used. Good will toward and confidence in the agricultural institutions increased and by 1915, a year after the beginning of the World War, agricultural enrollment had reached a total of 14,886 students, considerably more than twice the number five years before. By 1916 almost 800 more or a total of 15,669 were enrolled.

The agricultural colleges were in prosperous condition when in 1917 this country entered the Great War. The response of the young men of college age was immediate. They enlisted in large numbers. The draft then went into effect. The effect on enrollments in agriculture as well as in other college work was immediate and by 1918-19

only gral ince 19

3 agricultural students were enrolled, the smallest number

The war closed. In the fall of 1919 there was a great rush to the colleges which continued through the following year. At first it was felt in agriculture as well as in other lines. The slogan "Food will win the war," the demonstration of the dependence of the nations on food, the prices for food products during the war period resulted in a higher regard for agriculture than at any time in its history. The farmer's reaction was that of unbounded faith in his occupation and in its economic outlook. Those not in farming were impressed by the unusually high price level. The result was an immediate increase in college enrollments-14,275 agricultural students in 1919-20 and 14,493 in 1920-21, an increase of more than 60 per cent since 1918-19. In addition, this regular enrollment was augmented by a large group of special students, most of them mature inen who did not have the necessary entrance credits but who desired to benefit by the opportunities that colleges offered.

These conditions did not continue. By 1920-21 came deflation and the prices of farm products were soon cut in two. In a few months the great depression in agriculture which was to continue over an indefinite period had arrived. The impossibility of making both ends meet on many farms, the lengthened days of labor, the economies that had to be practiced, and the profound disappointment of farming people during this period will never be fully appreciated by those who did not experience some of the hardships of those days. Business closely related to agriculture also suffered. Farmers were not able to purchase the farm machinery or make the improvement they desired and needed. They felt compelled to use less fertilizer. Much livestock, especially beef cattle, had to be sold for what it would bring and feed consumption was reduced. Only a minimum could be spent for seeds and plants. All this was reflected in reduced business volume in farm machinery, fertilizers, feeds, and seeds-business enterprises in which many agriculturally trained men are engaged.

The reaction from the situation on the farms and in agricultural business was felt in the colleges. Farm leaders talked about the low estate of agriculture. Others did likewise. Farmers themselves advised and urged their sons not to go into agricultural work. If they went to college let them study business, the professions, anything so that it did not lead back to the farm. After such advice only those cared to enroll in agriculture who had deep personal interest in agricultural science and agriculture as an occupation or who planned to equip themselves for such work as that of county agents and agricultural teachers. The result was that students who en

rolled in agricultural curricula were very much in earnest Ico numbers grew smaller from year to year. By 1924-25 the mular agricultural enrollment had dropped to 11,715, by 1926-27, to 11,179, a point lower than in 1914. Only in 1927-28 did the tide seem to turn and agricultural enrollments slowly begin to increase. This was continued in 1928-29 and in 1929-30.

The changes that took place in agricultural enrollment during the period 1920-21 to 1927-28 are illustrated in Table 11 which shows the enrollments in agriculture during that period in 44 institutions. It is clear from the table that the tide turned in freshman enrollment in 1925-26 and there has been an increase in the number of freshmen each year since that time. In 1927-28 this increase was reflected in the sophomore and junior classes so that the total enrollment in agriculture again appears to be increasing.

TABLE 11.-Enrollments in agriculture 1920-21 to 1927-28 by classes in 44 institutions reporting

The land-grant colleges studied the situation during the lean years and made a large number of adjustments in curricula to meet the new conditions. The emphasis since the war has been upon prices, costs, and how these may be reduced; management and the use of laborsaving machinery; and upon marketing. This emphasis in the agri

11 These figures do not agree with the official figures from the Office of Education quoted above. since they include only the data sent by institutions in connection with the landgrant college survey, and these include some forestry students.

cultural curricula in the land-grant colleges has provided courses in economics, in agricultural engineering, and in farm management. New curricula in commerce, agricultural administration, and agricultural business have appeared. A more settled condition in agriculture and a more logical and orderly thinking and interpretation of trends in agriculture and in industry also tend to show that the possibilities in agriculture are larger than the conditions of the last few years would seem to indicate.

Enrollments in forestry in the land-grant colleges and universities were first reported with accuracy in 1902-1903. The trend was steadily upward until 1913-14. (See Table 12.) The decline that then set in was especially marked during the first year of the war. With the close of the war forestry enrollment again increased and in 1927-28 there were 1,076 students enrolled in the professional forestry curricula of the land-grant colleges. In addition, many agricultural students were taking such courses as farm forestry, general forestry, and range management as electives.

TABLE 12.-Enrollment of students in forestry in land-grant institutions

The rapid trend upward in forestry enrollment in recent years has become a matter of concern to leaders in forestry education. It is thought that it may lead to an oversupply in this professional group. A national inquiry on forestry education, under the leadership of Dean H. S. Graves of the school of forestry of Yale University, is under way which will give more light on this question.

The high degree of specialization in agricultural curricula combined with a gradual decrease in the number of students enrolled in agriculture from 1920-21 to 1927-28 has had one result that has been the cause of much worry to teachers and administrators, namely, a gradual decrease in the size of classes. Of 6,641 classes in 42 institutions in 1927-28, 3,320, or 50 per cent, had fewer than 10 students,